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Ubuntu Ports To ARM

Posted by timothy on from the arm-y-of-warmth dept.

nerdyH writes "Canonical will port Ubuntu Desktop Linux to the ARMv7 architecture. The announcement sets the stage for Intel to lose the traditional 'software advantage' that has enabled x86 to shrug off attacks from other architectures for the last 30 years. How long can it be before Microsoft responds with a Windows 7 port? I mean, x86 just can't do 'idle power' like ARM ... Nokia's N810 tablets can standby for several weeks, just like a cell phone, keeping you 'present' on IM, behind IPv4 NAT the whole time. The first Atom MIDs are standing by for 6-7 hours."

9 of 279 comments (clear)

  1. Is the OP serious? by Excelcia · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Is the OP serious about Ubuntu's port to ARM causing Intel to worry and Microsoft to follow suit? As much as it is a popular Linux distro, and as much as I personally like Ubuntu and wish this were true, I really don't think Intel is going to lose sleep over Ubuntu on ARM.

    Perhaps I'm misreading the tone of the summary. I honestly can't tell if it's is tongue-in-cheek or serious. The absurdity of it makes me think it's poking a little fun, but it reads to me like the guy was serious.

    1. Re:Is the OP serious? by antifoidulus · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Its proof the OP has about 0 idea what he is talking about. ARM CPUs are not meant to compete with the Desktop/Laptop CPUs, they often lack a lot of the features that those CPUs have. You won't see a whole ton of ARM based desktops anytime soon. ARM does compete(and is already light years ahead in terms of volume) with Intel in the embedded market. Having a version of ubuntu you can customize for a large # of devices does open up a lot of opportunities, but thinking that somehow this will combat Intel's dominance in the PC CPU industry is just well....stupid.

      --
      Monstar L
    2. Re:Is the OP serious? by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Debian is a binary distribution, thus no end-user compilation is necessary. You're thinking of Gentoo.

      --
      "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat
    3. Re:Is the OP serious? by Nursie · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "Its proof the OP has about 0 idea what he is talking about. ARM CPUs are not meant to compete with the Desktop/Laptop CPUs, they often lack a lot of the features that those CPUs have. You won't see a whole ton of ARM based desktops anytime soon"

      Where were desktops mentioned?

      MIDS and netbooks are the target. But with netbooks being so popular, and high battery life being an issue, ARM could make inroads to intel's current netbook dominance. And even stop it entering the MID market.

  2. Ubuntu Alone by prestomation · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Ubuntu alone is not going to "set the stage for Intel to lose the "software advantage"", or anyone else for that matter, by switching to ARM.
    Sure, a few thousand people will be able to switch to an ARM device without blinking, but the rest of the 99.9% of the worlds computer users won't give a flying piece of monkey poo.

    1. Re:Ubuntu Alone by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ubuntu alone is not going to "set the stage for Intel to lose the "software advantage"", or anyone else for that matter, by switching to ARM.
      Sure, a few thousand people will be able to switch to an ARM device without blinking, but the rest of the 99.9% of the worlds computer users won't give a flying piece of monkey poo.

      Really? All it took was a a tiny company in Cupertino, CA, a rogue division in Boca Raton, FL, and a tiny company in Albuquerque, NM, to change IBM's world.

      --
      My blog
  3. WTF? If AMD64 can't do it with a full x86 core... by corsec67 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The announcement sets the stage for Intel to lose the traditional 'software advantage' that has enabled x86 to shrug off attacks from other architectures for the last 30 years.

    I am reading this summary as a complete joke.

    We are having problems moving to AMD64, and those processors include a full speed x86 compatibility mode. Until there is an ARM7 core that has a full x86 mode I don't think it is going to go anywhere on eliminating the "software advantage" of x86.

    We can't even get such smallish things as flash to be offered in 64-bit mode, so what happens to larger Windows only stuff?

    Plus Wine wouldn't work, since it isn't an emulator.

    --
    If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
  4. Pandora by tepples · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I second these thoughts fully - I _WANT_ to see Ubuntu on ARM as a hobbyist.

    Downside: It might make the next batch of Pandora preorders sell out that much faster.

  5. Re:WTF? If AMD64 can't do it with a full x86 core. by Nursie · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Gnuflash will come along. Flash is already available for some non-x86 architectures.

    Who cares about windows-only stuff on a mobile internet device or a netbook?

    As for the rest of Linux stuff, there are already arm ports of a hell of a lot of thing, debian runs fine on arm.